Extendible height container and shelter

ABSTRACT

An extendible height container is provided in which the corner elements telescope to extend the height of the container from standard ISO dimensions. An enlarged shelter can be formed from the container by providing sides which fold down to form the floor of the shelter and a flexible cover supported above the floor thus created.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of pending application Ser. No.12/741,742, filed Jun. 30, 2010, which claims the benefits, under 35U.S.C.§119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/987,044 filedNov. 10, 2007 which is incorporated herein by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to the field of freight shipping containers,portable shelters and more particularly collapsible portable sheltershaving both rigid frame and flexible fabric sections which collapse to arigid shipping container for transporting.

BACKGROUND

Collapsible portable shelters which can be transported through ISOcontainer shipping channels are useful for military or civilian projectsof short duration or projects which are sufficiently remote that on-siteconstruction is uneconomical. The present applicant has developed acollapsible portable containerized shelter sold commercially under thetrade-mark MECC (“Mobile Expandable Container Configuration”) which isthe subject of prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,854 issued Jun. 9, 1998 andwhich is incorporated herein by reference. That patent discloses aportable, collapsible shelter comprising a) a rigid, hollow containerhaving opposed vertical sides, and a horizontal top and bottom, thecontainer having the dimensions and characteristics which satisfy thestandards for ISO shipping containers; b) at least one of the verticalsides comprising a pivoting wall portion hinged along the lower edgethereof to pivot between a closed vertical position and an openhorizontal position; c) means for releasably securing the pivoting wallportion in the vertical position; d) means for releasably maintainingthe pivoting wall portion in the horizontal position; e) a flexiblefabric cover adapted to be extended above said pivoting wall portionwhile the pivoting wall portion is in the lowered horizontal position;and f) means for supporting the fabric cover above the hinged verticalside while the pivoting wall portion is in the lowered horizontalposition.

The MECC container can be transported through the usual ISO shippingchannels, whether ship, rail or truck. It is stacked or loaded usingforklift or crane. While the expanded MECC container has three times thefloor area of the standard ISO container, its height remains the same,namely 2.6 m. (8.5 feet) or 2.9 m. (9.5 feet). For some applications itwould be desirable to have a shelter which can be shipped as a standardISO container but can be expanded into a shelter or storage facilitywith increased height in addition to or instead of increased floor area.

The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations relatedthereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Otherlimitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill inthe art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

SUMMARY

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described andillustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which aremeant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. Invarious embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems havebeen reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed toother improvements.

The present invention provides a standard ISO shipping container whichcan be extended in height when not in transit. The invention furtherprovides a collapsible portable containerized shelter which can beextended in height when not in transit. The present invention modifiesstandard shipping container structures to provide one or more fold-downside walls which extend the floor space of the container and areprovided with a retractable fabric cover to enclose the extended space,as well as providing a roof with extended height. Means is provided forreversibly extending the corner supports to thereby raise the roof. Aflexible fabric cover is adapted to be extended above the hingedvertical side while the hinged vertical side is in its loweredhorizontal position, and means is provided for supporting the fabriccover above the hinged vertical side while the hinged vertical side isin the lowered horizontal position.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to thedrawings and by study of the following detailed descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of thedrawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosedherein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention in collapsed state readyfor shipping;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the invention with sides lowered;

FIG. 3 is a detail of the hydraulic control shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the invention with roof raised and coverdeployed;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a detail view showing an intermediate support;

FIG. 7 is a detail perspective view showing the opening of the sidelatches and insertion of the winch handle;

FIG. 8 is a detail perspective view showing the opening of a side;

FIG. 9 is a further detail end view showing the opening of a side;

FIG. 10 is a detail perspective view showing the leveling of a side;

FIG. 11A-C are plan views of a corner jack;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the invention in collapsed state withcorner jacks in place;

FIG. 13 is a detail view of a leveling extension for the pivoting sidewalls;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the invention with side walls in thehorizontal position;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the corner locking pin;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the roof support frame elements indisassembled state;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the invention with the roof partlyraised and lowered side walls removed for ease of illustration andshowing the roof cover frame in position for raising;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the invention with the roof fullyraised and roof panels removed for ease of illustration and showing theroof cover frame in partly raised position;

FIG. 19 is a detail perspective view of a roof cover frame in fullyraised position;

FIG. 20 is a detail view showing the roof cover frame hinge locks;

FIG. 21 is a detail view showing the joining of the roof cover frame tothe wing extension;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines B-B of FIG. 1;

FIG. 23 is an exploded view of the corner post and hydraulic cylinderassembly; and

FIG. 24 is an exploded view of the corner post and hydraulic cylinderassembly.

DESCRIPTION

Throughout the following description specific details are set forth inorder to provide a more thorough understanding to persons skilled in theart. However, well known elements may not have been shown or describedin detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Accordingly,the description and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative,rather than a restrictive, sense.

With reference to FIG. 1, in its collapsed state the present inventionforms a shipping container 10 conforming to ISO (InternationalOrganization for Standardization) standards, of dimensions either 6.1 m.(20 feet) or 12.2 m. (40 feet) in length and 2.44 m. (8 feet) in widthand 2.6 m. (8.5 feet) or 2.9 m. (9.5 feet) in height. The widthdimension may be as great as 3.05 m. (10 feet). The ISO and relatedstandards applicable to the construction of the freight containers maybe found in the following publications:

-   ISO 1161 Series 1 freight containers—corner fittings—specification-   ISO 1496-1 Series 1 freight containers—Specification and    testing—Part 1: General cargo containers for general purposes-   ISO standards 9000 through 9004—quality standards-   International Union of Railways (U.I.C.)-   Transport International des Routiers (T.I.R.)-   Convention for Safe Containers (C.S.C.)

The container 10 has rigid sides 11 formed of pivoting side walls 12,roof 14 and ends 16, all of which surfaces may be insulated. While bothsides 11 are preferably formed of pivoting side walls 12, only one ofthe sides could have a pivoting side wall 12. Metal bottom side rails20, top side rails 21, metal cross members 22, metal vertical rails 24and corner fittings 26 provide reinforcement of the structure duringshipping. Pockets 28 are provided to receive the forks of a fork liftvehicle. A flooring 19 is provided on the bottom 18 of the container(FIG. 2). A mechanical system 29 can be pre-installed in the floor orwalls or elsewhere in the container 10.

Preferably roof 14 is a standard container roof of mild steel or Corten.Corner fittings 26 are manufactured of cast steel, and other framemembers are of mild steel. End walls 16 and side walls 11 are formed ofsections of steel panels surrounding rigid insulation foam. Flooring 19is preferably plywood with a vinyl top layer, while the upper surface ofside walls 12 is plywood with a linoleum upper layer. Floor and wallinsulation is rigid polyurethane or polystyrene foam while fibreglassbatt insulation is used for the roof 14.

The two side walls 12 are hinged along the base thereof at 42 to allowthem to pivot from a vertical position as shown in FIG. 1, where it isretained by latches 40, to the horizontal position shown in FIG. 2. Thehinge and wall construction can be as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,761,854. Latches 40 lock the side walls 12 in a vertical position toprovide a rigid structure for shipping purposes which can be liftedthrough pockets 28 or the ISO corner fittings 26. Latches 40 may beanti-racking rotating locking bars as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, or othersuitable latch arrangement.

The invention is preferably deployed on a hard surface such as tarmac,concrete or compacted soil, using a forklift or crane. As shown in FIGS.11 and 12, corner leveling jacks 46 are attached to the vertical rails24 and corner fittings 26. The body 48 of each jack 46 is slid down overthe foot/base plate extension 50 (FIG. 11A). The bolt head 52 of thejack is pushed through a keyhole 54 on the corner vertical rail 24 andthe jack is slid down to lock it in place. The jack 46 is then rotatedtowards the rail 24 and twist-lock 56 is inserted into the hole incorner fitting 26 and twisted 90 degrees to lock (FIG. 11B), and pin 57inserted to lock. The foot baseplate 58 is then dropped to the groundand pin 59 inserted to lock the extension 50. Referring to FIG. 12,handles 60 are inserted into sockets of the jacks 46 and the handles arecranked to level the container, cranking two jacks at a time.

Prior to lowering sides 12, intermediate supports 62 are installed onthe lower rails 20 at the locations 64 shown in FIG. 5 to permit largeloads to be supported in the shelter. The foot 63 of support 62 isthreaded so that it can be extended by rotation of nut 65. Cribbing 66is used where the corner posts are more than 3 inches above grade.

The sides 12 are then lowered as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and using awinch as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,854. The winch (not shown) maybe hand operated by a handle 68 as shown in FIG. 7, or may be operatedby an electric motor. The winch raises and lowers sides 12 by winding upor releasing a cable or wire rope 70 attached to the upper corners ofsides 12 and run over one or more pulleys and down to the winch which isattached to the fixed wall of the container. The winch may have abraking mechanism to prevent sudden slippage of the wire rope. Handle 68is inserted into the winch drive sot 69. locking bars 40 are rotated andslid down to release side 12. The side 12 is then winched down untilsafety strap 72 (FIG. 9) is almost taut. Safety strap 72 is thenunhooked and the side 12 lowered until close to the ground. The side isthen leveled either using a threaded foot plate 74 (FIG. 10) or anextension 76 (FIG. 13) which fits in collar 78 on side 12 and isretained by pin 79 in one of the holes 80 in extension 76.

Once the sides are lowered and leveled the roof can be raised asfollows. Lock pins 82 at each of the four corners are disengaged (FIG.15). Lock pins 82 are located on the inner surface of cross members 22adjacent each corner vertical rail 24 and control spring bolts 114 (FIG.23). The hydraulic pump is turned on (FIG. 3) using on switch andcontrolled using hand control 33. The roof is then raised slightly asshown in FIG. 14, for example 18 inches (500 mm). FIG. 16 illustratesthe disassembled elements of a hinged frame for supporting the fabriccover 90. It comprises offset pivot parts 84, hinged T arch assembly 85,hinged X arch assembly 86, spacers 87, ridge poles 88 and truss frames89. The hinged frame is assembled and connected to the roof as shown inFIG. 17. The offset pivot parts are attached to the upper rail 21 ateach corner 101 and have a pivoting piece 103 to which the T-arches 85are attached. The roof is then raised by the hydraulic control to itsfull 4-foot extension, thereby raising the cover frame to the positionshown in FIG. 18. The hinges on each vertical leg are then locked asshown in FIGS. 19 and 20 and studs 100 on the lower ends of the verticalframe members 102 positioned in cups 104 in the floor of the pivotingfloor wing extensions 12 (FIG. 21), thereby forming a rigidcover-supporting frame 91.

A fabric cover 90 as shown in FIG. 4 is then secured over frame 90.Cover 90 may be made of a waterproof PVC-coated polyester or the like,which may be insulated. Cover 90 is attached along the edges of sidewall 12 and along the edges of the rails 24, 22. The fabric cover 90thus provides a waterproof seal over the floor area formed by the wingextensions. Fabric cover 90 may be provided with a zippered opening 96for entrance and exit purposes and/or windows and screens. Vehicle ramps95 may be provided to permit entry of a vehicle. The end openings 92formed by the raised roof have a permanently attached fabric cover 94which folds into the interior of the container when the roof 14 islowered. A standard door 17 may also be used as an entrance/exit.

To collapse the structure to its shipping configuration, the foregoingsteps are reversed. The fabric cover 90 is removed, hinges on frame 91are unlocked, the roof is lowered hydraulically to the position shown inFIG. 17, the frame 91 is disassembled and removed, the roof is fullylowered, locking pins 82 are engaged, and side walls 12 are raised bywinches to a vertical position. Side walls 12 are then latched in thevertical position by anti-racking latch bars 40. The container can thenbe shipped by truck, rail, ship, helicopter or airplane as a standardISO shipping container.

Further details of the hydraulic system for extending the corner railsto raise the roof are shown in FIG. 22-24. Inner posts 110 slidetelescopically within the hollow interior 111 of outer rails 24,centered by contact with Ultra-High Molecular weight pads 112. Hydrauliccylinders 116 are activated by the hydraulic control 33 to extend as inFIG. 24, or retract as in FIG. 23, and have hydraulic connection 9 andare attached to the inner post at 2 and the outer post at 3. Spring bolt114 is controlled either by a lock pins 82 or a central handle 115 asshown in FIG. 23 controlling two spring bolts 114. Spring bolt 114either prevents the inner post from extending or releases it to extendunder the force of hydraulic cylinders corner rails are shown in FIG.15.

The foregoing extendible height structure can also be applied tocontainers not having one or more pivoting sides or fabric cover. Inthat case sides 12 may be fixed, without hinges. The extending containerroof would operate otherwise as described above. Fixed covers could beprovided for the lengthwise openings formed when the roof is extended inthe same way as provided for the openings 92 at the end of the containerdescribed above. In this way a container's interior space can beexpanded for storage when not in shipment and retracted to standard ISOdimensions for shipment.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussedabove, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications,permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof. It is thereforeintended that the invention be interpreted to include all suchmodifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as arewithin its true spirit and scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable, collapsible shelter comprising: a) arigid, hollow container comprising opposed ends, opposed vertical sides,a horizontal top and bottom and four corner rail elements, and whereinsaid corner rail elements each comprise outer and inner telescopicelements, each said inner element being secured at its upper end to saidhorizontal top and being reversibly telescopically slidable within saidouter element between a lowered position for transit and an extendedposition when not in transit;  said ends, sides, top and bottom beingsecured to form a rigid container having ISO Series 1 freight containerexternal dimensions and corner fitting locations when said innertelescopic elements are in said lowered transit position; b) at leastone of said vertical sides comprising a pivoting wall portion hingedlyconnected to said vertical side along the lower edge of said pivotingwall portion to pivot between a closed vertical position whereby saidpivoting wall portion forms part of said at least one of said verticalsides of the container when said inner telescopic elements are in saidlowered position for transit and an open horizontal position, saidpivoting wall portion having an outer edge, and whereby an opening isformed in said vertical side when said pivoting wall portion is in thehorizontal position; c) means associated with said container and withsaid pivoting wall portion for releasably securing said pivoting wallportion in said vertical position; d) means adapted to support saidpivoting wall portion for releasably maintaining said pivoting wallportion in said horizontal position; e) a foldable frame for supportinga flexible cover above said pivoting wall portion while said pivotingwall portion is in said lowered horizontal position and said innerelement is in said extended position, said foldable frame beingremovably attached to said outer edge of said pivoting wall portion andto said container when said pivoting wall portion is in said loweredhorizontal position; and f) a flexible cover removably secured to saidfoldable frame, to the edges of said pivoting wall portion and to theedges of said opening in said vertical side to be thereby supportedabove said pivoting wall portion when said pivoting wall portion is insaid lowered horizontal position thereby forming an enclosed space abovesaid pivoting wall portion open to the interior of said container whensaid pivoting wall portion is lowered to the horizontal position.
 2. Theshelter of claim 1 further comprising power means for reversiblytelescopically lowering and extending each said inner element withinsaid outer element.
 3. The shelter of claim 2 wherein said power meansfor reversibly telescopically lowering and extending each said innertelescopic element within each said outer telescopic element comprises ahydraulic cylinder.
 4. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said means forreleasably maintaining said pivoting wall portion in said horizontalposition comprises leveling means.
 5. The shelter of claim 1 furthercomprising means for raising and lowering said pivoting wall portion. 6.The shelter of claim 5 wherein said means for raising and lowering saidpivoting wall portion comprises a cable connected to said pivoting wallportion and winching means.
 7. The shelter of claim 1 wherein saidfoldable frame comprises rigid or semi-rigid beams attached to saidcontainer at either end of said beams.
 8. The shelter of claim 7 whereinsaid flexible cover is constructed from a fabric material.
 9. Theshelter of claim 1 wherein said means for releasably securing saidpivoting wall portion in said vertical position comprises a nut andbolt.
 10. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said means for releasablysecuring said pivoting wall portion in said vertical position compriseslatching means.
 11. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said flexible coverwhen supported on said foldable frame extends from an edge of saidhorizontal top above said pivoting wall portion while said pivoting wallportion is in said lowered horizontal position and is secured to saidcontainer around said opening and to outer edges of said pivoting wallportion.
 12. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said foldable framecomprises a collapsible frame secured at a lower end thereof to saidpivoting wall portion and at an upper end thereof to said container. 13.The shelter of claim 1 further comprising a flexible cover extendingbetween a top edge of one of said end walls and an edge of saidhorizontal top when said inner telescopic elements are in said extendedposition.
 14. A portable, collapsible shelter comprising: a) a rigid,hollow container comprising opposed ends, opposed vertical sides, ahorizontal top and bottom and four corner rail elements, and whereinsaid corner rail elements each comprise outer and inner telescopicelements, each said inner element being secured at its upper end to saidhorizontal top and being reversibly telescopically slidable within saidouter element a lowered position for transit and an extended positionwhen not in transit;  said ends, sides, top and bottom being secured toform a rigid container having ISO Series 1 freight container externaldimensions and corner fitting locations when each said inner telescopicelement is in said lowered position; b) at least one of said verticalsides comprising a pivoting wall portion hingedly connected to saidvertical side along the lower edge of said pivoting wall portion topivot between a closed vertical position whereby said pivoting wallportion forms part of said at least one of said vertical sides of thecontainer when said inner telescopic elements are in said loweredposition for transit and an open horizontal position, said pivoting wallportion having an outer edge, and whereby an opening is formed in saidvertical side when said pivoting wall portion is in the horizontalposition; c) means associated with said container and with said pivotingwall portion for releasably securing said pivoting wall portion in saidvertical position; d) means adapted to support said pivoting wallportion for releasably maintaining said pivoting wall portion in saidhorizontal position; e) a flexible cover removably secured to said outeredge of said pivoting wall portion and secured to said container aroundsaid opening formed when said pivoting wall portion is in said loweredhorizontal position, and adapted to be supported above said pivotingwall portion when said pivoting wall portion is in said loweredhorizontal position, thereby forming an enclosed space above saidpivoting wall portion open to the interior of said container when saidpivoting wall portion is lowered to the horizontal position; and f) afolding frame for supporting said flexible cover above said pivotingwall portion while said pivoting wall portion is in said loweredhorizontal position and said inner element is in said extended position,said folding frame being removably attached to said outer edge of saidpivoting wall portion and to said container when said pivoting wallportion is in said lowered horizontal position.
 15. The shelter of claim14 further comprising power means for reversibly telescopically loweringand extending each said inner element within said outer element.
 16. Theshelter of claim 15 wherein said power means for reversiblytelescopically lowering and extending each said inner telescopic elementwithin each said outer telescopic element comprises a hydrauliccylinder.
 17. The shelter of claim 14 wherein said means for releasablysecuring said pivoting wall portion in said vertical position compriseslatching means.